Winter is Coming
by ladytitania78
Summary: This is a sequel to my first story "Soulmates" The storyline picks up 6 months after the end of the Avengers. The Female OC (Aurora) is dealing with the loss of Loki, major depression, among other things in her life. Seeking redemption, as computer tech consultant/inventor, she helps SHIELD with the building of the Tri-Carriers for Project Insight in CA:TWS
1. Aftermath

Six months after the battle of New York, Nick Fury was still trying to figure out how in the world Loki was able to access all that he had from SHIELD, aside from what was obtained from Barton. Agents Clay Quartermaine and Maria Hill were due back from their reconnaissance mission from Stuttgart. It had taken them that long to research everything and sort through the rubble over there. During that time, SHIELD also made sure to work with the city to help rebuild everything that was destroyed. SHIELD also had other agents helping rebuild and investigate all the damage in New York as well. Nick Fury is standing on the bridge of the helicarrier when their Quinjet returns. Hill and Quartermaine enter the bridge.

"So Hill; do you and Quartermaine have anything to report?" asks Fury.

Maria Hill steps up, "Actually sir we do. It turns out that Loki was not alone in his quest to conquer Earth. We spent a great deal of time, tracing his steps from New York to Germany and back to New York. It turns out that after he escaped with the Tesseract, with Barton, Selvig and others in tow, he took a private plane to Germany. We also recovered the technology that he used gaining access at Schaefer labs, while obtaining the iridium. The technology was American. We discovered that when he was in Germany, he had a woman with him." Maria continues, "We looked over the security footage and logs, it was confirmed to be true. She arrived a day before him and left a room access key for him at the front desk. It appears that she was there on her own business with an assistant, but is shown later, touring the town and at a benefit that Dr. Heinrich Schaefer was a guest at. She was in both locations with Loki. After he cut out the doctor's eye and made his spectacle and was captured, she dropped off of the radar and was no longer with him."

Quartermaine jumps in, "Then, we spent the rest of the time, running facial recognition software on any and all footage collected world wide and from New York's cameras and the surveillance set up previously by Coulson at Stark Tower. Then we managed to get 2 positive hits. One was her saving people at a small coffee shop and then she reappeared at Stark Tower, talking to Loki, right before the Avengers got there. She disappeared again."

"Tell me, do we know who this mysterious woman was?" asks Fury. Hill and Quartermaine look nervously at each other. Neither one wanted to tell him about the identity of the woman.

"We do, sir." says Quartermaine. Maria walks over toward Fury, who is glaring at the both of them, and she hands him a file. On the cover it reads, "Aurora Lawson, SHIELD tech consultant."

Hill and Quartermaine could not believe that for once Nick Fury was speechless. They both knew that he would be shocked as they were at this discovery. He quickly flipped through the file, looking at all of the surveillance footage pictures. He shakes his head in disbelief.

"There has to be a mistake. This woman has been one of our longest employed technology contractors. She helped us program the Phase 2 missiles with the Ghost protocol; I don't understand why she would be in league with Loki." Says Fury.

"Sir, neither do we. We knew that she had a long history of working with us, but we don't understand it either. Do you think it could be a case like Barton and Selvig?" asks Maria.

"It's very possible. The question is how did he find her?" He takes a deep breath. "Hill, head to her office and bring her in for questioning and Quartermaine, you contact Stark. She was involved with him a long time ago and Tony is an investor in her current project for the DOD. We'll see what he knows about her, and maybe he can shed some light on this matter."

"Yes Sir!" said Hill and Quartermaine at the same time, as they both turn and leave.

Meanwhile, at Lawson Technology Consultants Inc., Aurora sat in her office, working away. Thanks to the money that Tony invested, she was able to produce a few more prototypes for the US Military. The DOD contracted her to make solar powered Arc Reactors for weapons, cell phones, and other contact devices for combat duty. Ever since Loki's capture and return to Asgard, Aurora became extremely depressed. She stared down at the blue stoned engagement ring on her finger. It never left her finger. It was the only thing she had of his. After a couple of months, she started to really realize that he wasn't coming back. He was probably in prison or worse; dead.

The only joy she found was work. Work helped keep her mind off of the fact that he was gone and would probably never return. Ever since the loss of the baby, the depression and nightmares continued; it was beginning to be too much for her. She was beginning to look so exhausted from lack of sleep and the stress that she was not looking healthy at all. There were a few tabloid articles on her claiming she was partying hard and abusing drugs, but she ignored it. Aurora stopped to look out of her window, and stared out in a daze as Grace's voice came over the phone. Aurora hits the button. "Yes?"

"Ms. Lawson? You have a visitor here." Grace replied.

"Who is it? I don't have anyone scheduled for today."

"It is a Maria Hill. She says she needs to talk to you on Fury's orders."

Aurora sighed. She figured that this day was coming especially after her involvement with Loki. Thankfully, her telepathic ability would allow her to probe Maria's thoughts, so she could better answer the questions. SHIELD had no idea that she was a telepath and she intended to keep it that way. "Send her in."

Maria walks in and sees Aurora sitting at her desk. She was shocked at her appearance. Aurora's hair was very neat and despite the makeup and clothes, but her face looked as if it had aged ten years or more. She had the same look about her that Erik Selvig did. This seemed to confirm her suspicions that Aurora had been under mind control by Loki. Maria, walks over to her desk.

"Ms. Lawson, Nick Fury sent me her to talk to you. He needs you to come back with me to the Helicarrier. He wants to ask you a few questions."  
Aurora still looked dazed. "Okay, Maria. Please sit right here, while I talk to Grace. I'll have her clear my schedule for the rest of the day, is that fine?" Maria nods. Aurora pushes a button, "Grace I have urgent business with Maria, please clear my schedule for the rest of the day. If something happens, you can reach me by phone, alright?"  
Grace responds with an affirmative. Aurora closes down her computer and turns to grab her purse and walks over to her refrigerator and gets a bottle of water. "Where are my manners…would you like one, Maria?" Maria shakes her head and Aurora grabs another and they two women exit the office and head to the elevator. They say not a word to each other. Maria surveys her from top to bottom. Aurora can feel her doing so, but doesn't say anything. They get into her SHIELD SUV and head towards the bay where the Helicarrier is stationed.


	2. Inside Looking Out

Meanwhile, on Asgard…..

Loki sits alone in his cell in the depths underground. He is so furious. Thor always ruins everything for him. He wanted to take over a planet and enslave them, so they would worship him. What was so wrong with that? Odin had done the same several millennia ago, why was it so wrong for him to want to be a king? Now his arrogant brother was off saving the other realms since they had been cut off earlier when he broke the BiFrost. Then his thoughts turn to Aurora. He worried every day about her. It pained him that she was alone on Midgard, probably being tortured to death and persecuted for being pregnant with his child. The thought of Thanos possibly knowing about her and the baby, scared him even more. He knew he was safe from Thanos here, but Aurora was not. He was a threat to everyone in the nine realms. Loki finishes pacing the floor and he hears a sound behind him. He turns around to see Frigga. He looks closer and sees that it is an projected vision.

"Hello Loki. How are you my son?"

"About as well as can be expected, I suppose.

"You know full well it was your actions that brought you here." She says.

"My actions? I was merely giving truth to the lie that I had been fed my whole life: that I was born to be king." He continues. "Does Odin know you are here?"

"Your father does not. I don't think it's any of his business what I do in my free time." She says.

"He's NOT my father!" Loki shouts.

"So I am not your mother?" she asks him. Loki pauses, "No you are not."

"You are always so perceptive about everyone else but yourself. I know you better than that, tell me what is the matter. No matter what, you are my son and I love you."

She looks at him, and says," Tell me what is the matter Loki?"

"Nothing." He replies. But there was something wrong.

"Fine." He takes a deep breath and paces in the cell. "While I was on Midgard, I met a woman. A very special woman, the most beautiful I have ever seen. I spent time with her on Midgard for about a month or so, prior to the New York invasion. It was like time stood still with her; she was my light in the darkness. Her name is Aurora Lawson." He smiled. "She loved me. I fell in love with her. I know that we are destined to be together. I know this to be true, despite my failed marriage and indiscretions in the past. Unfortunately, I got her mixed up in my failed attempt to enslave Earth. I didn't really tell her everything that happened with Thanos. It was best for her not to know. She was such a wild spirit though and I had to try and contain her for her safety; lying is what I'm best at. I wonder how she's doing, carrying my child. My thoughts drift to her constantly, she was the only woman I cared about, save for you. I wish I could see her again." Tears start to creep down his cheeks and he sits down on the floor of the cell and hangs his head.

"She's pregnant? You're going to be a father? Oh Loki!" she exclaims. "Why did you not tell me sooner? She has no business being there on Midgard pregnant with an Asgardian child!

"No not Asgardian. A Jotun child remember?" Loki replies.

"Loki, I know you. Despite your crimes, you are not the monster everyone believes you to be. This could be the start of something beautiful for you: a family of your own. If this woman truly loves you and you love her, there is no reason for her not to be with you. Heimdall has been using the Tesseract to rebuild the Bi-Frost. If it is successful, I will try to send someone else down to Midgard to retrieve her on my orders. I will have Heimdall keep watch. "I promise I will do all that I can for her. Tell no one about this." Says Frigga.

"Who would I tell mother? I see no one but you. "

"Also, I am planning to send you something with your next round of books. Inside one of them will be something special for you." Frigga disappears. Loki smiles and goes to lie down on his bed


	3. Redemption

Back on Earth….

On the way to the Helicarrier, which was docked in the bay, Agent Maria Hill and Aurora spoke not a word. As she drove, she noticed Aurora nodding off to sleep. Maria said not a word, but when they arrived at the bay, she woke her up. The two women exit the car together and head inside the cargo hold. They arrive inside and they are met by Nick Fury and some SHIELD guards.

Fury says, "Greetings Ms. Lawson, follow me."

Aurora complies and follows him. Fury takes immediate stock of her appearance and Aurora sensed it, but she had been so tired lately she just didn't care. Fury noticed the same pale, despondent look on her face, similar to the one that was still plaguing Dr. Selvig. She was escorted to an interrogation room. Fury excuses himself and leaves the room. Aurora sits down and lays her head down on her arms and closes her eyes and tries to read the thoughts of the agents behind the two way mirror.

Aurora can hear all of what's going on behind the glass. She continued to lay with her head down and pretended to nap.

A Dr. Jemma Simmons comes into the office outside of Interrogation room 1 accompanied by Leo Fitz and interrupts, "Hello Director. I have some questions about a file." She looks at the glass. "What is happening here?" she asks.

"Is that who I think it is?" ask Fitz. "Is that Aurora Lawson?"

"Yes, it is." Maria Hill replies. "Why are you so interested, Fitz?"

Fitz starts to gush, "Are you kidding? She is one of the country's top computer programmers. She has worked with numerous weapons manufacturers and governments all over the world. She even invented small scale weapons on the side. She is famous. We studied her while in SHIELD academy. She developed a program called the Ghost Protocol. It is a computer based navigation and command program for weapons, mainly for the US military. For example, when small things such as bullets are shot out of a gun, her program allows for the user to direct it to its intended target. It allows for snipers, to shoot their targets, even if they are covered up or mobile. As long as a target can be tracked by GPS or satellite, you can kill anything within a 5-10 mile radius. This self-guided system can be used for things like missiles too. Also, in the event that your weapons fall into the wrong hands, the infamous Ghost protocol is kicked in. It completely erases all information in the weapon and uses an electrical pulse to paralyze the part of the brain that stores memories, provided the person is in direct contact with the weapon. Hence: the Ghost protocol. Now she's collaborated with Tony Stark to improve on a solar powered mini arc reactor that can be designed to provide a power source for deployed military personnel and most recently she has wanted to provide people with a way for clean energy. She is absolutely brilliant! Wait… why is she here?" he asks.

"She has been suspected of being in league with the war criminal known as Loki." Says Hill.

"You mean the Asgardian who wrecked New York?" asks Fitz.

"Yes, the same. The only thing is she is exhibiting similar signs to what Dr. Selvig is experiencing, as result of the mind control." Says Hill.

Hill hits a button to record the conversation about to take place. Simmons and Fitz watch as Nick Fury takes an ear piece and instructs Hill to keep him informed while he went to interrogate Aurora. Fury walks into the room where she is now sitting up. He is carrying a small stack of manila folders, which are the case files from the New York incident.

"Hello Nick."

"Aurora, do you know why you're here?" he asks.

"Yes, I believe so, but truthfully, the last few months have been a little blurry. I haven't been myself lately." Aurora carefully listened to Fury's thoughts, so she could tailor her answers to the questions. She had to make it seem like she was taken advantage of by Loki, so she could avoid any jail in the Fridge or the Cube.

"Are you familiar with the Asgardian, Loki? If so, what was your relationship with him? I ask this because we have footage, and pictures of the two of you in Germany and New York together. We also found several pieces of advanced technology in Germany and New York, all with your company's logo. Care to explain?" as he lays out the pictures and the folders. Aurora takes a careful look at them. She acts very surprised at a few pictures, despite that she knew very well everything that occurred between her and Loki. She had to make them believe that she was just a victim.

"Yes. I was familiar with him." she replied.

"How did you meet him?" asks Fury.

"It was over 5 months ago, I think…right after I left your facility after seeing the Tesseract and giving you the programing for the missiles. I flew home, went to the spa and out to eat with Sam. Nothing out of the ordinary, we went to a club and it was there I met him." She smiles, but then changes her expression to look puzzled and pained. She continues, "What kind of my stuff did you find in Germany or New York?"

"We found several ion cannons and iridium in containers in Germany along with this." Fury points to a picture of the eye scanner that was gouged into Dr. Scheafer's eyeball. She looks at the picture and replies, "This was just a prototype I designed a couple of years ago. I had the weapons program in R &amp;D scrap this, along with the ion cannons. They were supposed to be stored in the vault underground. I didn't realize that they were used or missing."

"You didn't?" asks Fury.

"No, a few years ago, right after Tony Stark went missing in the Middle East. I decided to jump in on the weapons manufacturing bandwagon. With Stark out of the picture, it opened up opportunities for other companies to take advantage of the contracts for the DOD. The eye scanner was initially designed for the CIA in covert operations. If you needed to break in somewhere and retinal scanning was part of the security, this allowed to you to take the tripod with claw and place it into someone's eye and virtually recreate their eye. The cannons were just prototypes, I planned to dismantle them and use them for other projects. The R &amp; D that went into all of it was just too expensive for me to do without a backer, so I scrapped them. The weapons game was a dangerous game and I was afraid that my inventions would fall into the wrong hands. I never showed them to anyone, even when I was dating Justin Hammer. After I scrapped them, I locked them up. They obviously made it out and I don't remember how." She says as she hangs her head. This time she meant it.

"It's okay Aurora, do your best. So during your time with him, you had no idea that he was an Asgardian?" asks Fury.

"Not really, at first. When I met him the night I was out with Sam; he just appeared to be a foreign businessman here in NYC. I just considered him a possible one night stand, no strings kinda thing. But that wasn't the case. We continued to see each other. You know, I knew something was kind of off about him, but it had been a very long time since I had been with a man. We became lovers. He was so enchanting. I fell in love and I liked that feeling." As she stares into the air and smiles. "Nothing really seemed to be out of the ordinary, I mean, I enjoyed having company. Days went by and all, then I met with Tony at Stark Tower. We discussed our joint project for the DOD and the military, which is the solar arc reactors. I planned to go overseas and pitch the ideas to our business partners in Germany and China. Then, Tony and I got to having a few drinks, some laughs and well, one thing led to another…" Aurora smirked.

"Spare me the details about Stark. Continue."

"After I left the tower, I hurried home. Loki was there. That's when it got crazy. He got so angry, furious and called me all kinds of names." Aurora started to cry, "I thought that we had something special." She started to shake. "I was so scared. After that, things became fuzzy, next thing I know I'm on a plane from China to New York and all hell had broken loose." as a few tears roll down her cheeks. She starts to stutter and grabs her head, "I'm so tired, something happened to me right when I got back to New York. It was like my mind was back and everything was clear. I just knew it was him, and I thought if I could talk to him, since he said he loved me, I could get it to stop…but it didn't. I got scared and ran. Nothing has been the same since then."

For the first time, she wondered if Loki did use mind control on her. Did he lie? She was a little upset with herself, for a telepath, she was obviously a weak one.

"Sir, this is Simmons. The scanner is showing normal vitals, with no EEG variations; which mean that she is telling the truth."

Fury shakes his head and sighs. She was one of the most brilliant minds he had encountered. Loki had left an utter mess behind him, including her, Selvig and other SHIELD agents. Thankfully, Thor took him away to prison on Asgard. Thor had explained how the Tesseract would be used to rebuild the BiFrost, so if he was ever needed again, Heimdall, the All-seeing Keeper of the BiFrost, would notify him and he would return. For the moment, he had decided it would be best to keep her under SHIELD protection. He would put someone on her, maybe possibly back at her penthouse. He would talk to Hill and have her arrange it.

Fury gets up to leave, his mind is racing. "Aurora, stay here. I'm going to make arrangements for you and we are going to keep you under SHIELD protection."

"It's really not necessary. I'll be fine. I'm sorry Nick. I really made a mess of things. Please help me. " she pleads.

Fury agreed and left the room. Tony Stark came bursting in. "What is the meaning of this? Why is she here?"

"She was involved with Loki in the attack on New York; but apparently not of her own free will. It seems he left her mind a mess. She told us she had fallen in love with him. Judging from the interrogation and the live bio-scanner results, she has been truthful in telling what she knows. Because she is such an important computer consultant for us, Fury is deciding what to do with her now." Replies Maria Hill.

Nick comes into the room and explained to Tony about the evidence of her involvement with Loki He told Tony that they were going to monitor her. Tony asked to talk to her. Fury agreed and left the room.

Tony walks in to the room and shuts the door. "Hello Aurora."

She walks up and hugs him. "What are you doing here, Tony?"

"I could ask you the same thing. SHIELD called me in when they discovered evidence of your involvement with Loki and the New York invasion. Why? He asks.

She glances down at the floor. "I don't know, Tony."

"Of all the people in the world, why you let him take advantage of you?" asks Tony.

"That's funny, Tony. You used to do the same thing to me."  
"What are you talking about?"

She turns bitter, "Of course, you wouldn't remember would you? I was so in love with you Tony for so long. The first couple of years we were together were great. We had even discussed starting a life and family together. Then your weapons building took off, then you started drinking and partying. After that I became nothing more than a convenient little plaything. I did everything I could to make you love me, but it wasn't enough. You never even missed me the day I moved out." She said. "But thankfully, you gave me something that day: Motivation. Thanks to you and every bit of money I ever made, I worked my ass off and made my company what it is today. Your captivity in Golmerrah, allowed me to move on with my life and capitalize on the military arms race. Your company made weapons, I programmed computers and worked on advanced bionics and cybernetics for the DOD and SHIELD, in fact. Everything I have today, I owe to you." She says.

He looks at her with his big brown eyes and smooths her hair and says, "I'm sorry if I hurt you. I was in a very dark place for a while. The only happiness I found was in the bottom of any bottle I could find. I'm sorry you had to be in the middle of all of that. You have no idea what it is like growing up in the shadow of Howard Stark: the legendary founder of SHIELD, master inventor and creator and forecaster for modern technology. He and mom died when I was young, and I needed someone. Obadiah was my surrogate father and I was taken advantage of; fuck, he had me kidnapped and taken to the Middle East to die. When I survived and made it back I wanted to make something of my life, something to help: I wanted to rid the world and protect the people from the very weapons I helped make. Looking back at my life, I had so many missed opportunities for happiness and I let them slip away, one of which was you. I thought of you often while I was in captivity, as well as Pepper too." as he takes a finger and raises her head to look at him.

"I know you still care about me, Aurora. I still care for you; and I always will, but we are in different places now. I will always consider you my dearest friend and business partner for a long time. My place is with Pepper. She was the one constant that I had in my life, and somehow managed to keep me in line. She completes me."

Aurora stood there, speechless. For the first time, Tony finally admitted how he felt about her and knew what he had missed. The hardness in her heart for him started to soften, she felt like she could finally forgive him. He was always there for her even before they had become lovers. He never doubted her genius and now they were working together. She would still love Tony, but she missed Loki too. Sadly, the more she talked with Fury, the more she didn't understand. Why were so many events missing? Did she have amnesia? Thinking back on all that transpired, she started to feel extremely guilty for helping Loki. A lot of people died as a result of the invasion and she had helped to make it happen. Maybe SHIELD would allow her to atone for what she did after all.

"Oh Tony." She runs and hugs him so tightly and kisses his cheek. "I'm so sorry. I've made such a mess lately. I forgive you. You have always been there for me and I've been so selfish and bitter. I really wish you and Pepper the best. I want to continue our work on the DOD project. I think that we could do some real good for the country and the world."

"I agree, Aurora. I want that too. We are two of the most brilliant minds here. You know." He smirks.

"Was there ever any doubt?" she smirked. "We can change the world. I want to make it a better place. I can't explain why everything happened with Loki. I just know how I felt and I felt LOVED. I liked that."

"You do realize that Loki is not coming back right? Thor said he was to stand trial in Asgard." Says Tony.

She starts to cry and blabber," I know. It's hard to accept it. I have no one in my life now; he's gone and you have Pepper. My life hasn't been the same since then and losing the baby has made it worse."

"What baby?" asks Tony

"I found out I was pregnant right before the battle started, I went to find him to tell him and try to get him to stop. It didn't work. The next few weeks after that I started having severe pain in my right side. It was unbearable. I went to Dr. Marshall and it turned out the pregnancy was ectopic, or tubal. It was on the verge of rupturing my fallopian tube. Dr. Marshall said that it had to be removed, otherwise it could kill me. Ever since then, I haven't been able to sleep, the guilt is too much for me. I thought it was the hormones from the birth control since then, but it's not."

"Was it mine?" he asks, as he hugs her tighter. He steps back to look at her.

"No. I wore my diaphragm with you."

"You know, if it was mine, I would never leave you. Ever. Regardless, you are my friend and business partner. Despite everything, you are one of the strongest women I know. This was not your fault. You will get through this, you have me, your family and SHIELD. We will help you. You will find love again. I have the name of a great therapist. We've got to get you back out working with me, we've got a world to conquer." He smiles at her. "Remember, I'm with you until the end of the line."

"Where'd that come from?" she asks and smiles.

"I borrowed it from my dad, he used to say that to me when I was little. It was something someone he used to know said all the time to a friend of his."  
"Who?" she asks. Tony replies, "Captain America of all people. Cap's friend, Bucky, that died. It was something they said as kids and soldiers in the war together. Dad thought it was a nice sentimental saying, so I guess he took it. I just don't have the nerve to tell Cap." Laughed Tony. "

You will be alright, Aurora. Will you call me if you need me? I will help you. Don't worry, I'll deal with Pepper."

"Yes, I will. I really just want to get some sleep. I'm so exhausted." as she sits down. Tony motions for Fury to come and get her. They arrange to have agents take her back to her penthouse. She goes inside, with agents standing outside. She is so tired from everything that has just happened and didn't give a fuck right now. She knew Tony was probably right. Loki wasn't coming back. She needed to move on. She takes the blue engagement ring off of her finger for the first time in months. As if by magic, she starts to feel better than she ever had in six months. It was like a weight was lifted off of her. She decides to go and take a shower and ready for bed. She looks up, despite knowing Loki might never hear her, but says, "I miss you Loki." With that, she goes to the door and tells the guards they can go, she is going to bed. She lays down and sleeps the most that she ever has in the last six months.


	4. Moving On

Back on Asgard….

Loki is sitting in his cell bored as ever when a guard comes to deliver him some more books and clothes from Frigga. He takes them and turns around to speak to an astral projection of her.

"Hello Loki. Did you get the books and the clothes?"

"Yes, I did." He replies as he goes to sit down on his bed in the cell. Frigga starts to talk, "I want you to open the smaller book named "Midgardian Legends". I have put something in there for you." As she smiles.

Loki picks up the book and opens the cover and finds a golden beveled mirror. "What is this?" he asks

"It is called the Flashing Eye. It will allow you to see your Aurora whenever you want. I spoke to Heimdall and he agreed to fashion the mirror piece for you. When you want to see her, all you have to do is ask it to show her and it will. I can tell you have longed to know more about her, so now you will have a way to do so." with a puff she disappeared.

Loki grasping the mirror, says, "Show me Aurora." A strange green glow ghosted on the mirror's surface and he sees her. As he continues to speak enchantments to it, the last few months appear and replay. He sees that she lost the baby and the very dark depression she was in. He watched as she cried every night for him and the baby. The guilt had taken a toll on her. He watched the whole SHIELD interrogation mess with Fury and Tony. He also sees her being questioned by SHIELD and the sad realization in her penthouse about him never coming back. He sees as she takes his ring off. It saddened him to see her take it off, but he understood. Things here in Asgard looked bleak. She probably should move on with her life, despite the connection he felt to her, maybe someday they would be reunited. Loki resolved someday that if her were to be King in Asgard, he would send for her no matter what and bring her to him. He wished so bad to be there and comfort her; but the awful cell reminded him of the reality that he could not. She was a gentle, smart and beautiful soul and she deserved to be happy. Loki decided that he was still going to keep the mirror, regardless. But, he sees her look up and say "I miss you Loki" and he smiles.


	5. A New Beginning

Another six months passes, and Aurora is feeling better than ever. A little over a year since the invasion of New York, she been working on different things.

The therapist Tony recommended really helped her escape her funk. She was learning how to let go of the guilt. The anti-depressants helped too. Her success had grown, thanks to her new research in cybernetic prosthesis being funded by the government. The VA was a staunch supporter for returning disabled war vets. There was more success thanks to the Stark collaboration, so much so, that SHIELD and the Secretary of Defense, Alexander Pierce, asked for her to come to Washington DC to help them on Project Insight. She was going to help design and program the SHIELD Tri-Carriers. She was to have her own condo in DC, complete with furnishings and the latest equipment; along with a more than generous compensation from Secretary Pierce, thanks in part to Senator Stern.

She couldn't pass it up. She sublet her penthouse and put her VP in charge of her company. She still wanted a hand in her consultant business, but this DC opportunity was one she could not pass up. She packed her bags and headed to JFK to take her private jet to DC. When she arrives she finds Alexander Pierce and a couple of agents waiting for her. The agents grabbed her bags and she gets into the limo with him to head to the Triskelion for a de-briefing.

Aurora and Pierce arrived at the Triskelion and head into his office, where a lengthy meeting takes place with both of them and the World Security Council and Nick Fury. Aurora is introduced as the lead computer programmer who will help enable the Tri-Carrier to monitor threats in the world. Fury and her exchange conversation, she gives him a hug and thanked him for allowing her to work again with SHIELD. He shook her hand and said he'd see her around and that he had to go to a meeting with Steve Rogers. Aurora started gushing over him and Fury laughed and joked that he'd have to introduce them sometime. Until then, he said to enjoy DC. She is congratulated and taken back to her condo to get settled in and Fury departs the office to the elevator.

After she leaves, Agent Rumlow brings him a file about her to Secretary Pierce.

"Here is the file you requested sir." as Rumlow puts it down on his desk. Pierce starts to skim the contents, starting with her personnel file. Inside it was everything about her family, school, college, internships and surveillance photos of her involvement with Loki. All kinds of intel from SHIELD on her, also that she had been pardoned for being an accessory to the war crime in New York. Only in exchange for her continued work for the DOD. Her cybernetics projects had great potential and he had one candidate in mind she would work with.

He looks at Rumlow, "I knew there was something special about her. She is genius level, beautiful and extremely headstrong. I want an agent to act as security and have them learn everything they can about her. I think she might be able to help us with our "asset". If she does still long for her lost Asgardian, she may be willing to help HYDRA in exchange for the chance to be reunited with him. If not, I'm sure we can change her mind for her."

"Will we really do that?" asks Rumlow. Pierce says, "Of course not, we have the scepter and we can use it to harness the power for our own needs, Von Strucker is in charge of that. We don't need to tell her that we have no intention of bringing them together. I want her loyal to HYDRA. Find out what you can about her family as well." He says. "Make sure that our asset is able to do some surveillance on her too. I want him to know her, since they will be getting acquainted very soon."


	6. Watcher In The Shadows

Aurora looks out on DC from her condo. It was really beautiful. The city's lights sparkled in the night like diamonds. It felt nice to start a new chapter in her life. She called her parents to tell them where she was staying and what was going on. Her mother and father expressed their delight at her success. There's a knock on the door. She excuses herself and opens the door.

"Hello. Can I help you?"

"Ms. Lawson. I am Agent Jones. Secretary Pierce has commanded me to be your personal guard while you are here in DC. "

"Go away. I'm fine. I don't need security." She says. The agent shakes his head, "Orders ma'am. I have to."

"Fine if you insist." She turns and walks to the new bedroom. She unpacks her clothes and starts to work on putting her items away. She sets up her computer and orders some take out to be delivered. She even ordered some for her new security guard, just to be nice. She continues to unpack and make her area more liveable. The food arrives, she pays the delivery boy and proceeds to give the guard some food. She sits down on the couch and turns on the TV. It was getting late and she decided to ready for bed. She had planned to take a walking tour of the Smithsonian tomorrow and the rest of DC before starting work with SHIELD next week. She hears a sound from the window, but when she walks over to the window, it was still the same. She had left it cracked open to allow a breeze in the apartment. Unknown to her, there was a man in the corner in the shadows watching her every move. She shakes her head, there is no way anyone can get up in the windows this high and shook off the paranoia. She walks toward the shower and undresses. The strange, muscular man is wearing a mask and has a shiny metal arm, covered by a black jacket. He has dark brown chin length hair, with bright blue eyes. He stands in the corner, still watching her, fascinated by her. All the while collecting intel on her. He watches as she steps into the shower. He stands there watching her, feeling a slight pang in his gut. He walks over to her computer and sets the tracer on her computer. By this time, he sees her lying in the tub, pleasuring herself and whimpering. A voice comes on the speaker and says, "Get back to base now." The mysterious masked man, leaves without a trace. She suddenly sits up, she had this feeling she was being watched. Thank goodness telepathy was good for something. She concentrates but nothing. Aurora gets done with her bath and libations and decides to go to bed. She decides to take a sleeping pill, so she can get a good night's rest.  
That night, the masked man is back at the base. He is confronted by Alexander Pierce.

"For such a skilled assassin, you almost compromised your mission. Tell me what did you see that was so intriguing? I want a full mission report."

The man reports what he had seen in the condo. Pierce smiles and strides over to a desk and lays out the pictures the assassin had taken of her. He glances over to see the soldier's blue eyes staring at the desk. "What is her name?" the soldier asks. Pierce smiles, "Aurora Lawson. HYDRA has hired her under the guise of SHIELD to help us with Project Insight. She is a very smart woman that we can recruit to our cause. As it sits right now, she is a threat to us as a result of Zola's algorithm. Your mission is to persuade her to join us at HYDRA by any means necessary." He says. The soldier replies, "Yes, Sir."

The Winter Soldier stands and looks at his intel on the woman and asks when he will be able to meet her. Pierce states at least a month, so she has time to work and get used to her surroundings in DC. The soldier sighs and walks away. Pierce tells the doctors to put him in cryo the next day, but he had a suspicion the soldier wanted to see her again. The later his cryo sleep was delayed, the more emotions and memories would break through the programming; something the Russians found out later on after they had found him frozen in the waters in Europe. Later on, one of the agents reports that the Winter Soldier has snuck back into her apartment. Aurora was sound asleep. The soldier walked over to her bed and watched her. His big blue eyes, stared at her. He reached out with his right hand, and lightly ghosted over her skin on her left side, along her hips and legs; allowing her skin to prickle just enough to cause her to turn over on her back, as smile comes across her face. By turning, she was allowing her breasts to peek out of the negligee' she was wearing. He leans over and smells her hair, breathing in the peach scent of her shampoo. He stands to admire the rest of her body.

She muttered something, but the Winter Soldier couldn't understand it. He still watched her sleep; confused as to why he was having these feelings about this woman, and why he felt completely drawn to her. She continued to whimper in her sleep and this time he heard the name: Loki. He wasn't sure who that was, but still he watched her chest rise and fall, as he continued to admire the woman in front of him. He was so enchanted by her. He started to have some sort of flashback and started to get nervous and stumble. He couldn't make out the vision, but decided it was time to leave her.

The Soldier walked around the side of the bed and leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead and promptly disappeared. Aurora woke up and looked around. She could've sworn that someone was there. She got up to look around, but saw nothing. She got a glass of water and went back to bed and drifted off to sleep.


	7. Hibernation

She woke up the next day and made some coffee and started to finish unpacking her items. She decided that she was going to take a walking tour of DC starting with the Captain American exhibit. She told the guard she would be fine and that he needed to go back to SHIELD. She made a phone call, demanding no security, more privacy, so he was ordered to headquarters. She walked around the Smithsonian and stopped to read about Captain America and his Howling Commandos. She watched the clip of Cap and his best friend from childhood. She read all about him and how he was called Bucky for short and that his name was in fact, James Buchanan Barnes and he was named for a President. He and Cap were best friends from childhood, setting the stage for a long history together, until Bucky was killed in action. She looked at the pictures and thought to herself how handsome Bucky, or James, looked. She touched the picture of him, there was just something about him, that she felt drawn to. If he was anything like Captain America, then he would be just as courageous, kind and decent and know how to treat a lady. Things were definitely different during WW2 as compared to now. She glanced over at a man in a ball cap with blond hair, peeking out, swearing it was Captain America himself, but she just shrugged and continued her tour through the museum and started her trek to the Air and Space section. Touring Washington DC was a delight and felt in awe when she stood in the Lincoln Memorial. She looked out and saw joggers in park and other tourists taking pictures of the monuments. This was just the beginning.

The rest of the week, went just as smooth. She finally finished unpacking and getting the condo redone in bold colors and she started getting out more. She went out to eat by herself and went shopping for some new clothes. She still had those weird feelings, like she was being watched, but saw no sign of it. For the first time, in a long time, she felt happy. Over the next few weeks, she worked with Alexander Pierce and a few construction workers and even some programmers and some other very talented people. They still had major work to do on the Tri-Carrier, specifically building the separate sections. The nice thing was that thanks to Tony Stark's generous donation, all of the three sections of the Tri-Carrier were to be powered by replusor technology.

The computer programming systems would not be that difficult. It was nice, though, to have someone trust your input on the designs and to finally respect your genius. She was extremely glad that she took this opportunity, because it allowed her to be able to meet more influential government people and further her business and financial success. During that next couple of months, the Winter Soldier kept an eye on her from the shadows, in between missions. When he would start to regress, they would continue to put him in the cryo-stasis for reprogramming again. The only thing that helped him cope was the images of her face and the thoughts that it was all for her- a woman he had never met. Sadly, it gave him something to hold on to when he drifted off into that frozen slumber.


	8. The Winter Soldier

As for Aurora, everything was going better than it ever had, but then she was summoned by Alexander Pierce one evening. She went to his office and found him sitting with a bottle of bourbon and two glasses.

"Ms. Lawson. I just wanted you to know that your work here in the last few months has been absolutely brilliant. I know we still have more work to do before the entire Tri-Carrier is operational."

"Thank you sir, I'm happy to be working on this project for you. This has been such a wonderful opportunity for me. I have you and Sen. Stern to thank as well as SHIELD. My company's stocks have never been higher or me more successful. "

"Please call me Alexander. You deserve it. We should be honored that such a visionary as yourself has come aboard." As he hands her a scotch in a tumbler, they clink glasses. They converse about the last months she has spent in DC and how she was spending her free time, as if she had any. They laughed, she admitted that it was kind of lonely at times, but Skyping with her family and company helped. She starts to take another sip, "Okay, Alexander. So what did you really want to see me for?"

"I don't think that we've actually had a minute to sit and talk. Tell me more about your other projects with the DOD and cybernetics. "

"There's nothing much to tell really. The project with Stark Industries was a success. I was glad to help our military. As for my other project, it is still a huge work in progress. Cybernetics usually works on the principles that a person's brain works like a computer, or more specifically like a processer. When a person loses a limb, I had been experimenting on wounded soldiers from our overseas conflicts. I was hoping to improve neural interfaces in the body with the mechanical technology to improve reflexes and movement in the cybernetic prosthesis. Each one should ideally be custom fit to the individual, allowing proper integration with the body's nervous system. I had success with a hand that was lost and amputated in a soldier returning from Afganistan. I want to be able to allow people the chance at a normal life, in light of tragedies that made them handicapped. The only problem is, like any computer or technology, it needs to be upgraded from time to time and could glitch. That takes work, especially when you have to allow for the brain and the body to readjust and compensate for any lost movements or sensations. It's a work in progress, really. I have yet to see it on another person. It was just experimental. Why do you ask?" she wondered.

"I need your assistance in a top secret project of mine regarding cybernetics and you are the only consultant or person that has experience with this. I have someone in need of your services. Care to join me? I will take you down to meet the man." He says as he offers his hand. Aurora agrees and the two take an elevator down to a bunker underground. She follows him into a small, but substantial lab with numerous agents and guards in black. She looks and sees a man with a metal arm in a small gym, working a punching bag and lifting weights. She stands there and watches him, utterly fascinated. Right in front of her was an actual success story. The metal arm has a red star on the deltoid and is located where his left one should be. The red star looked Russian. The man catches her staring at him and she feels her heart skip. There is something about him, but she can't put her finger on it; like she's seen him before. She tried to read his mind, but to her surprise it's clouded. She looked at him and smiled and he smiles back. He was strikingly beautiful. He had the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever seen and brown chin length hair that was mussed up just right. His face was covered in beard stubble, full lips and the most glorious chest and body. He was so strong. She blushed slightly, but man's eyes never left her gaze.

She turns to Pierce, "Who is he? He is amazing." she asks.

"He is one of my personal security team. He is also a skilled military soldier and assassin that works under the radar for us. He is a very valuable asset to our organization. He has successfully managed to stop some foreign terrorist in the last few years without drawing an unnecessary attention. His codename is the Winter Soldier."

Aurora continues, "No, what is his actual name?"

"I'm sorry, that's classified." Pierce says.

"Seriously? I can't even know his first name?"  
"No."

"Why?" she asks. "He is all military business, but he is a great agent; his work has been a gift to us. He prefers to go by his codename; the Winter Soldier". Replies Pierce.

"Fine, don't worry though, I always find out what I want...besides I want to meet him." She strides over to the lab entrance and he quickly follows her inside. They enter the little lab. It was so extremely high tech, and she was a little jealous at the same time. He motions for the soldier to come over and meet her. He acts like nothing is out of the ordinary. Aurora starts to feel nervous as she watches the man stride over to her. He was so predatory, it was unnerving. He stares at her. She nervously figits until Pierce breaks the silence.

"This is Aurora Lawson. She will be our new lead computer consultant on Project Insight for us. She also has experience in cybernetics and will be assisting us in upgrading your arm; she is brilliant." He looks at her, Aurora nods in agreement, but the Soldier is still not breaking gaze and thinking to himself, "God, she was beautiful." He was having a hard time putting words together to say to her. For most of his life, he rarely had an original thought. HYDRA did most of the thinking for him. She spoke first.

"Hello." She says.

"Hello." The Soldier says.

She extends her hand out to shake his right hand, and he does the same. She was unsure of the tingling sensation, she just felt, like a connection. Maybe, all the exertion on his arm had caused it to glitch. The Soldier stands there and then walks over to a seat and sits. A doctor comes over to him and starts to mess with the arm. She watches as he messes up. She walks up politely asks the man if she can take a look at what he is doing. She takes her coat off and tells the man she needs a soldering iron with a needle and few other supplies and for everyone to vacate the lab. She glances at Pierce. In a gesture of trust, he agrees and the lab clears. She sets to work. She moved a few wires and solders the wires together and continued her work. The whole time, the Soldier is staring at her. She meets his gaze and smiles at him and he returns the smile. He was so ruggedly beautiful. Eventually she had fixed the neural interface wires, allowing the soldier use of his fingers again. After she was done, she decided to examine the cybernetic arm on this beautiful man. She examined the attachment point and moved her fingers down his pectoral muscles and his back. She smiled as his skin prickled at her touch; all the time her eyes never breaking contact with his. There was something about him, almost familiar but she still couldn't figure it out.

"So, how does it feel?" the man, moves his arm and he reaches for her hand. She doesn't shy away from his cold arm. "Better, thank you." He says.

She asks him, "I want to know something; why do you keep staring at me? Do I have something wrong with me? You never broke eye contact with me, while I was working on you. Why?"

The man is unable to find words and starts to stammer. "I'm sorry, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Aurora blushes. "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself. Any woman would be lucky to have you." She says flirtingly. He steps closer to her and she can literally smell the sweat from his body, as it trails down between his chest, as her eyes follow it. The Soldier smiles, knowing he was starting to be even more drawn to her. The sexual tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Alexander Pierce seemed pleased and inquired if the Soldier wanted to accompany her home. They both replied, "Yes" at the same time. He was instructed to grab his shirt, vest, gear and clothes and take her to the condo. "You know Aurora, if you want for the time being; we can assign him to you for security, in between his missions, if you want." Aurora nodded. Pierce told Rumlow to take her back to the condo and that he would be along shortly. She waved goodbye to Pierce and he talked to the Soldier.

"You are doing fine work. Remember it is your job to make her happy and persuade her to join HYDRA. In the mean time, we have no missions for you, so instead of cryo, you will be living with her a while. You will be called upon when we need you." The Soldier breathes a sigh of relief. He hated the cryo chamber. Pierce continues, "This should allow you time to get acquainted with her more intimately. Can you do that?"

The Soldier smiles, "I don't think that will be a problem, sir. I know what my mission is."

"Accomplish your mission by any means necessary. Do not fail." Pierce says as he walks away. The scientists put him in the wiping chair for one last electro-shock treatment.


	9. You Are My Mission

A car finally pulls up in front of the complex and she opens the door. She kindly tells him thank you, pays him and shuts the door. She continues to walk up the sidewalk to the front entrance. She punches in her code and the door opens. She stops at the mailbox for her mail and walks up to the elevator. As she is waiting, a strong metal hand grabs her shoulder and she turns with a jerk and grabs for the mysterious hand, but it was metal and strong. She comes face to face with the Winter Soldier. He had grabbed her hand, but didn't realize he was almost crushing her left hand. She mewls in pain, he lets go and looked at her with utter horror. She held her hand and cursed under her breath.

At that moment, she heard his thoughts, thinking he had crippled her and that he was sorry and it was all running together in his head. She looks at him; he is staring down at the floor. She runs her right hand up his cheek and says gently, "It's okay, I'm fine. Look." She moved her fingers a little, just to show him she would be okay. He looked at her with the saddest, bluest, puppy dog eyes and whispers, "I'm sorry." She smiled and grabbed his hand and led him inside the elevator. They rode up to the top floor and he followed her out. She reassured him, she was fine and that a little ice would help it. He didn't seem convinced. She went to the fridge and got some ice and put it in a bag and held it on her left hand. The Soldier sat on her couch and watched her.

"I will be fine. Don't worry." She proceeded to slip off her shoes and sat by him on the couch and turned to him, "Why don't you take off all that gear? You've got to be uncomfortable. You brought clothes, right?" He nods. "There is a bedroom in there, use that to change. I'll be here okay?" He complies and grabs his bag and walks into the bedroom and she stayed on the couch and turned on the TV to watch the news. He returns a few minutes later in a tank top and sweatpants than hung just right and he sits back down by her.

She put her arms around him in a hug and whispered, "I'm so glad you're here with me." He reassures her," Til the end of the line." She pricks up, "What did you say?" She asks.

"I'm not going anywhere. You are my mission." He replies.

Aurora shrugged. She knew she had heard him say, "til the end of the line" even if he didn't. She smiled and nodded. The Soldier just watched her as she walked toward her bedroom to start to change her clothes. She could sense him watching her and she decided to give him a show. She started unzipping her dress as she was walking away and it started to slip down. She could hear his thoughts racing and that she had him right where she wanted him. He was beautiful and deadly. That must be why she found him so attractive. She had a thing for the bad-boy type anyway.

"Excuse me, could you come here for a minute?" she asks. The Winter Soldier walks into her room and she sees he has an extremely fit body, with those glorious pecs and the love lines on his lower abs. "I can't get the last part of my zipper down, can you help me?" she teases. He zips it down and he sees the dress fall at her feet. She purposely bends down to pick it up, making sure her ass brushes his crotch, just enough to get a rise out of him. She looks over her shoulder at him and says "Thank you." And proceeds to saunter off toward the shower and he can't help but watch as her hips sway side to side and that her long strawberry blonde hair cascades down her back. She closes the door behind her and the soldier goes to the couch and waits without saying one word, and stares at the TV.

A little while longer, she comes back in her negligee and robe with two bottles of water and hands him one and sits by him, making him extremely uncomfortable. She figured she'd try to make small talk. At the same time, he knew he felt something for her, but he wasn't sure what just yet. He was so frustrated because he couldn't think of anything to say. She asks him, "So what is your real name?"

He stammers, "I can't tell you." She glares right at him as she stands up furious, "Why the hell not? Let me guess it's classified." While making air quotes with her fingers

"Listen bub, I'm only going to say this once, if you can't trust me by at least telling me a little about yourself, including your name; this situation isn't going to work. You might as well leave. I have a lot of trust issues with people from past experiences and let me tell you, you are not doing yourself any favors. If I need to, I can find out something about you. Trust me."

She turns on her heels and heads to her bedroom. "Goodnight….Winter Soldier…or whoever the fuck you are." She slams the door and then hears a knock a minute later; she opens it up and finds him there.

He stares at her, wide eyed, "Where do I sleep? I've never had my own bed before." She sighs and says hold on; she grabs a pillow and blanket and hands it to him. She tells him "Sofa city sweetheart." as she points to the couch and starts to shut the door. She thinks there is something odd about him. Last time she had this feeling and ignored it, it got her in hot water with SHIELD. She'd be best not to fall again like a fool the second time.


	10. Breakdown

The Soldier had nothing to say. He wanted to talk to her, but wasn't sure what to say. His mind was racing. He takes the pillow and blanket and spreads it out on the couch. Compared to some of his sleeping arrangements in the past, this was much warmer and cozier and he wasn't surrounded by metal and concrete. He starts to close his eyes to sleep, but finds it difficult because every time he does, it triggers his fear of being frozen again. He gets up and starts to pace, muttering something in what she thought was Russian. She was curious about her new guest, but just in case she locked her bedroom door and crawled back in bed and drift away to sleep.

The next couple of days goes about the same. Some times he accompanied her to work in the morning and other days he didn't. While at the Triskelion, she would never see him until she returned home. She would fix something to eat and he would say nothing, so dinner time chat was pointless. He would stare at her, which she found unnerving, but curious at the same time. She tried to read his mind, but it was so clouded, she couldn't.

She would always tease him or talk to him, but he didn't say much at all. Aurora finally shrugged after the third day of poor company. She goes and takes a shower and then tells him it was his turn. All of his items were neatly rolled/pressed and in perfect order. She knew that it was military in nature. She finished brushing her teeth, took off her robe with her black negligee under it. She found him laying on the couch. "Hey I'm going to bed, if you need anything just let me know." she tells him and turns around to head back to her room. She hears, "Goodnight, Aurora." She turned and smiled at him, and said, "Good night to you too. Sleep well." as she closed the door behind her. With curiosity getting the best of her, she cracked her door open and watched her guest. He never said anything, why now? she wondered.

He gets up to walk around the condo and starts to pace and he stops to look around. She reads his thoughts and finds that he is feeling frustrated because he can't remember anything and he didn't know how to tell her. She also sees a vision of a couple of metal arms encircling his head, a mouthpiece, and people in lab coats around him. Her concentration is broken as she sees him bend down and grab his head, grit his teeth and fall to his knees, groaning in pain.

She runs over to him, thinking, "What the fuck happened to him?" She feels sorry for him. "Hey, what's the matter?" He gives her this sad look, and says, "I don't know." She gently helps him up and brings him to her room and has him lie down on the bed and starts to soothe him, like a helpless child. He looks at her, wide eyed and frightened. She moves his hair out of his face, and strokes his cheek. "It's okay, I'm here." He looks at her still frightened, "What is the matter with me?" She strokes his face gently, and soothes him. "Hey there soldier, don't worry. I'm here, I won't leave you, I promise." She crawls in the bed by him and he lays his head in her lap, and she caresses his hair. She was in awe that such a beautiful man could be so vulnerable for some reason; all the more reason to find out why. She continued to soothe the shaking man for over an hour.

Finally, the Soldier started to calm down and he looked at up her, to see her smiling at him, just like a mother doting on her baby. "You can stay in here in the bed…." before she could finish her thought, he reaches for her arm and asks, "Will you stay by me? I don't want to be alone tonight." She kissed his head and said yes, as they crawled into bed with her small arms around him, cuddling him like a teddy bear. He touched her hair and brushed her shoulder. She looked and him and smiled. For the first time in a long time, the Winter Soldier closed his eyes and fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	11. Origins and Secrets

The next day she rolled over and the Soldier was still sleeping. She closed her eyes and started to probe his thoughts. She was not prepared for the images in his head: a long fall into an icy river, a red, white and blue shield, lab coats surrounding him, people talking in Russian, cryogenics, random people, metal arms around his head and the pain, the intense pain, swirling in her head; she couldn't take it anymore and the Soldier started to wake.

She looked at him and he smiled and said," Hey Doll." She looked at him and said, "Did you sleep well?"

"Better than I have in years." He smiled at her. "Thank you for taking care of me. I don't know what happened to me."

"It was my pleasure. I still say if you are going to be staying in my place for a while; I still think I should know your name."

He sits up against the headboard and pillows and blurts out impulsively, "I'm sorry, I don't know what it is. I don't know much about my past either, there are a lot of blanks that I just can't fill in. For all of my military career that I can remember; I've been called the Winter Soldier."

He was starting to tense up and was becoming more unraveled. She could see he was trying to remember. "All I know it that when the Russians found me in the icy river, I had lost my arm and couldn't remember who I was. They gave me this arm with the red star and trained me in the KGB, specializing in black ops. I think they experimented on me. I was trained as a spy and assassin. It was my job to do the things, during the Cold War no one else could do."

He continued, "When they didn't need me between missions; I was put into cryo stasis for a sort of hibernation for years. Then Alexander Pierce somehow found me and gave me a new purpose. I work in secret to help protect against terrorists. Only thing is, when I start to remember things I did in the past, they wipe my memory, to suppress the bad stuff, I guess." He looks up at her, while he's trembling the whole time, "I'm glad because now I met you. I will probably be in trouble for telling you all of this. Please, you cannot tell a single person anything at all. I don't want to leave your side. This is the first moment of mental clarity I have had in a long time. Please, let me stay by you. Just being here makes me feel better."

He holds her hands tightly in his and pleads with those intense blue eyes.

Aurora was shocked. At that moment, she had finally figured out where she had seen him. In the Smithsonian's Captain America display, there was a video of Cap and Bucky. The same blue eyed man with the same crooked smile, was staring at her. Of course, his hair was much longer now, but she knew it was him. The fall into the icy water and the shield in her vision confirmed it. This man she was looking at was none other than James Buchanan Barnes, aka Bucky. What happened to him in Russia? How did he survive the fall? What did they do to him? There was no way she could leave him now, if SHIELD wanted to keep his past a secret from him, brain washing or cryostasis was a shitty way to do it. Listening to him talk, made her suspect that something in the upper SHIELD ranks was not right. Pierce and his minions are up to something and her soldier was apparently a pawn in it all. She was not going to let that happen.

"I won't leave you. I want you to stay with me. It must be tough to not be able to remember things like that. I will help you figure out who you are, I promise. I want to get to get to know you, but for the while that you are here with me, I will call you James, that way it is simple and makes the environment a little more friendly. Humor me."

"James." He repeats. "I like that name."

"Me too." As she crawls over and straddles him on the bed and cups his face in her hands and stares into the sea of blue eyes and puts her forehead against his; "I promise you, I will not tell a single soul. Your secret is safe with me. From now on, just remember something, you don't have to do anything alone, I'm with you until the end of the line. Just you and me."

He just stares back at her in amazement. She was wonderful and in that single moment, Aurora became the light in the end of the tunnel for him.

At that moment, her phone rang and it was Alexander Pierce. She leans over and answers the phone. She told him she wanted to work from home today and he inquired if the Soldier was still there. She said yes and that she wanted him to stay with her and that she enjoyed him being around. Aurora stated she would call him James. He sighed over the phone and would allow the Soldier to stay as long as she wanted him, but he was needed right now for a mission and would be gone for a few days and he would return to her. She had to let him go. She handed the phone to James and watched him for a minute, while he talked to Pierce. After he was done, he handed her back the phone.

"I have to go now, Aurora. I will return as soon as I can."

She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the lips. "For luck."

He stared at her, smiling and leaned up and kissed her back. Soon the two were kissing passionately on the bed. His tongue gently found its way into her mouth and she reciprocated, as her arms wrapped around his neck. He started moving his hands up her sides, teasing her breasts. She pulled back for a breath and said, "That's for when you return." He smiled and said, "I can't wait."

He attempted to get up and Aurora moved off of him and he got up and leaned back over and kissed her. Within minutes he was dressed in battle gear and out the door. She sighed; the sexual tension had been high. It had been almost 2 years since she had been with anyone. After Loki, she swore she would never love anyone else. But right now, she was face to face with a dangerous, gorgeous man and desperate for carnal pleasure. She decided to get up and walked over to the window and watched as he climbed into a black SUV. She decided to go and change her clothes and go for a run. She needed to clear her head.


End file.
